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“MELTING FURNACES”

Presented by :

Mihir Tupe BT16MME034

SaiKumar Patel BT16MME035
N Anirudh BT16MME036
Durgesh Rallapalli BT16MME037
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Melting Furnaces :

● Electric Type:
1. Induction Furnace
2. Electric Arc Furnace

● Fuel Type:
1. Crucible Furnace
2. Pot furnace
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Induction Furnace
Principle of Induction Heating:

“High voltage electrical source

from a primary coil induces
(electromagnetic induction) a
low voltage, high current in the
metal, or secondary coil.”

Induction heating is simply a

method of transferring heat
energy.
By applying a high-frequency alternating current to an
induction coil, a time-varying magnetic field is generated.
4 Coreless type Induction Furnace

Principle of Operation:

1. Steel scrap- placed in furnace as metal charge.

1. Frequency current- through Cu coils-->primary

coil of transformer (wound over the crucible)

1. Metal charge = secondary.

1. Therefore, heavy ac secondary currents –

induced in metal (because of electromagnetic
induction)--> creat eheat (Joule Effect)

1. Heat-->uniformly conducted from skin towards

centre of metal and melts.

1. Time taken by charge to melt is very short.

1. Secondary current- associated with a B-->

magnetic stirring action on molten metal--
>speeds up melting process & mixes charge
uniformly.
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Coreless type Induction Furnace
Advantages
● Simple construction- eliminates
need for laminated iron core
and channels of molten metal
● Magnetic stirring of melt--
>excellent uniformity of melt
composition
● Can melt relatively small
quantities of a wide variety of
metals & alloys- quickly and
cleanly
● Intermittent operation possible
● Semi skilled labor
Disadvantages
● Initial cost of furnace and its
auxiliary equipment- very
high
● Limited to melting high
quality metals and in small
amounts
● Due to speed with which
melting process is
completed, there is little time
available for analyzing melt
chemical composition
 Core type Induction Furnace
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1.Operates as an ordinary transformer

2.Primary coil- many turns & wounded on a

laminated steel core

3.Secondary: ONE turn = channel or loop of

liquid metal in furnace

4.Secondary current are induced in the metal

bath around the core and heat is generated
(because of resistance)

5.Channel of molten metal around the coil-

connects to main metal container above

6.Metal in channel gets heated- circulates

through & stirs the metal in container
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Core type Induction Furnace
Advantages Disadvantages
1. Most efficient of all 1. Complex construction : 2
induction furnaces (80% cores (primary + channel
v/s 60% for coreless of molten metal)+ metal
type) container
2. Melting- rapid and clean 2. Furnace can be started
3. Melt- accurately only after filling the
controlled w.r.t temp & channel with molten metal
composition 3. If molten metal solidifies-
4. No combustion products can’t be re-melted by heat
are present & oxidation 4. Limited to melting one
losses are minimum alloy at a time in order to
5. Furnace operation- maintain liquid metal in the
economical channel
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Applications
Coreless Type Core type

● Useful for melting ● Primarily used for

general, special, remelting non-
alloy and high ferrous metals and
quality steels in alloys
small quantities ● Malleable cast iron
● Holding furnace for
permanent mold and
die casting
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INDUCTION FURNACE

Why an induction furnace?

The advantage of the induction furnace is a clean, energy-efficient and
well-controllable melting process compared to most other means of
metal melting.
Since no arc or combustion is used, the temperature of the material is no
higher than required to melt it; this can prevent loss of valuable alloying
elements.
Most modern foundries use this type of furnace, and now also more iron
foundries are replacing cupolas with induction furnaces to melt cast iron,
as the former emit lots of dust and other pollutants.
Drawback: lack of refining capacity; charge materials must be clean of
oxidation products and of a known composition and some alloying
elements may be lost due to oxidation (and must be re-added to the
melt).
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ELECTRIC ARC FURNACES

● Employed for production of high quality castings

(furnace atmosphere, composition of melt can be
accurately controlled.
● Used for melting alloy steels, alloy cast irons,
brasses, etc.
(no fear of oxidation of alloying elements)
● High cost of operation
● Capacity ranges from 250 Kg to 10 tons
● Three types – Direct arc furnace, Indirect arc
furnace and Resistance heating furnace
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Direct Arc Furnace

● Most widely used remelting unit in
steel foundries

● The largest direct arc furnaces have

capacities of about 125 tons.

● Direct arc furnace has diameter up to

6 metres.

● Rating of the transformers supplying

power to the arc ranges from 800 kVA
to 40,000 kVA.

● A 50 ton direct arc furnace may

require arc current of the order of
25,000 A and arc voltage of about 250
V
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Direct Arc Furnace

Advantages
● Lend themselves to close temperature and heat control
● Thermal efficiency as high as about 70%
● Alloying elements like Cr, Ni and W can be recovered from
scrap with little losses
● It can make steel directly from pig iron and steel scrap

Limitations
● Heating costs are higher than for other (say crucible) furnaces.
This can however be adjusted to some extent by using low cost
scrap turnings or borings as metal charge.
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Indirect Arc Furnace (Rocking Furnace)

● Capacity ranging from a few
kg up to 2 tons
● Preferred for producing
smaller melts
● Unlike direct arc furnace,
metal charge does not form
part of the circuit
● Can be used for melting
cast iron, steel and copper
and its alloys
● It obtains lower temperature
and has a lower efficiency
as compared to direct arc
furnace
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Indirect Arc Furnace

Advantages:

● Metal charge does not form a part of electrical circuits

● Rocking of furnace avoids overheating, provides stirring
action for uniform melt composition
● Low cost scrap metal can be used
● Operation and control of furnace are simple

Limitations:

● Indirect arc furnace has a low capacity

● Not recommended for producing large quantities of
melt
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Resistance Heating Furnace

● In a rocking furnace, instead

of an arc, resistance heating
of a simple electrode
provides the heat required
for melting
● Electrodes have a reduced
diameter at the centre for
greater resistance and thus
greater heating
● The furnace operates
noiselessly
● This furnace involves high
operational cost
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CRUCIBLE FURNACES

● It consists of a crucible and this crucible is

made up of refractory material.
● Crucibles are available in different sizes
ranging from 1 to 400.
● The fuel used is coke, oil, and gas.
● Oil will be sprayed and it will be burnt.
● Coke will be filled inside and it will be burning,
and the metal will be melting. So, this is the
simple principle of the crucible furnace.
● Used for melting of NON-FERROUS metals
and alloys (low melting point)
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TYPES OF CRUCIBLE FURNACES

1.Pit crucible furnace.

2.Gas and oil fired crucible furnace
(stationary).
3.Coke fired crucible furnace (stationary).
4.Crucible furnace of tilting type.
5.Crucible furnace of bale out type.
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Pit Crucible Furnace

● Consists of crucibles placed in a pit below ground level

● Fuel generally used is coke
● Charge consists of pig iron,foundry returns ,broken
castings
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Process Involved
▸ Enough coke is packed around the crucible to melt and
superheat the charge.
▸ The coke bed if formed ignited and allowed to burn.Once it
reaches the state of maximum combustion,coke from the
centre coke bed is shifted towards sides to make space for
the crucible containing the metal charge.
▸ Crucible is surrounded with coke on all sides and covered with
a lid.
▸ Blower is present to provide sufficient air for the combustion
of coke while the charge is melting.
▸ When the charge acquires the pouring temperature the
crucible is lifted out of furnace with help of tongs and taken to
the place of pouring.
 Stationary gas or oil fired Crucible
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Furnace
• The figure shows a gas fired crucible furnace.
• It has a outer shell having a refractory lining inside.
• The blower pumps in the gas and the flame swirls around the
crucible and melts the charge.
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Stationary Coke Fired Furnace

● The figure shows a coke fired crucible furnace.

● Unlike the pit furnace they are above the ground
level.
● It has an operation similar to coke fired pit furnace.
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Tilting Type crucible furnace

● As compared to stationary furnaces tilting up are used for larger amounts of

melt (upto 500 kg of metal and more).
● Unlike stationary furnace,the crucible here can’t be lifted and taken to the
pouring place it is titled and poured into a preheated ladle.
● The tilting type furnace is placed above ground level and placed over two
pedestals and is rotated either by geared hand wheel or power.
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Process Involved in Tilting Type

● It consists of a outer cylindrical shell having a refractory

lining inside.
● Tilting furnace is of coke,oil or gas fired type.
■ The coke type is not that advantageous as
compared to oil or gas fired type.
■ As during melting there might be a possibility of
re-coking which is difficult in tilting type.
■ Heating of melt in coke type is difficult when tilted
whereas gas or oil type burners can be located to
facilitate heating when the furnace is tilted.
● In this the burning fuel encircles the crucible and melts
the charge inside(efficient way of melting).
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Contd.

● Molten metal in the crucible should not come in contact with

furnace atmosphere otherwise gases like oxygen and
hydrogen will be absorbed.
❏ To avoid this a flue is constructed to carry off
products after combustion as shown in the
figure.
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Crucible Furnace Bale-Out Type:

▸ The figure shows a crucible furnace of bale-out

type.
▸ It is placed above ground level(unlike pit furnace)
▸ It has a similar operation as that of coke fired pit
furnace.
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Advantages of Crucible Furnaces

● Low installation cost

● Low melting losses
● Uniform heating of the charge.
● Pit crucible furnace preserves the purity of the
charged material.
● Useful for melting non-ferrous metals/alloys.
● Through oil and gas fired furnaces we can improve
and easily control the temperature.
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Pot Furnace

▸ Similar to crucible furnace

▸ It consists of a cast iron or a steel pot in which the metal is charged.
▸ The metal is heated using gas,oil or electricity.
▸ Most commonly Al,Mg,Pb,Zn,Sn and other low melting metals are
melted using this method.
▸ It is generally used for smaller castings.
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References

● Principles of Metal Casting – Richard W Heine, Carl R Loper, Philip C

Rosenthal

● http://furnacecooling.com/arc-furnace/

● https://www.slideshare.net/vijayraskar501/electrical-heating-0203

● NPTEL Lecture by Prof.D.B.Karunakar.